What your utility bills are not telling you! 
How to figure out the quirks in Forest Service utility bills.

Several Region 2 forests have recently reviewed their utility bills and have discovered that the forest has been needlessly paying hundreds if not thousands of dollars to the Utility Companies.  With tight budgets and an emphasis on reducing energy consumption, now is an excellent time to review utility bills and ensure that federal dollars are used appropriately for energy purchases.  Obtaining and reviewing past utility bills is not an easy task.  The majority of the energy bills are sent directly to the National Finance Center (NFC) without the forest ever knowing how much energy is used, where the energy is used, what rate structure the use is based upon, and whether the forest still owns the property.  The intent of this memo is to provide some guidance based upon the experiences of others during their utility review process.  Below is a list of steps that should help in this process:

1.  Obtain a list of all the utility providers, the accounts, site address or building address, associated meters, and rate structures.  This can be done by a variety of methods.    Support Services Supervisors (SSS) on Districts usually have the account numbers and addresses.  If the District no longer has an SSS try a Forest Budget person, who should be able to tell you which accounts are associated with which districts.  District maintenance people, as well as most Forest facility engineers, should be familiar with where the meters are.  If you obtain account information and meter numbers but are unsure which exact building on a site with which they are associated, you may have to go to each site and find the meter.   Existing site plans can also help with this.  

Armed with the account numbers, addresses, and meter numbers, you should be able to obtain rate structures for each account by contacting the local utility company.  

2.  Verify that the Forest Service still owns the property.  In many cases, the property has been sold or transferred to another owner (private or government) and the forest is still paying the utility bills.  In this case, inform the appropriate owner of the problem and their responsibility for paying the utilities, and work with the utility company and NFS to remove the forest service from being responsible for payment.

3.  Verify that power is still required or used at each site.  At many locations the power has been disabled or removed but the Forest Service is still paying a monthly charge for the meter.
•	If power is no longer required, work with the utility company to disconnect the meter and stop the associated monthly charges.  In some cases, the utility transformers can also be removed resulting in payment back to the government.
•	If power maybe needed in the future, work with the utility company to determine if it would be cost effective to disconnect the service now and reconnect the power at a later date for a small fee.  

3.  For utilities provided to concessionaire operated facilities, review concessionaire contracts to verify who is responsible for paying utilities.  Many times the Forest Service will pay for utilities during construction with the concessionaire responsible for paying the utilities after construction is complete; however, the paper work transferring payment responsibility was never completed.

4.  Review the utility bills for invoice accuracy, billing structure, rates redundant billing charges, tariffs and surcharges.  Mistakes do happen resulting in overpayment to utility companies.  
•	Make sure that the rate is appropriate for the amount of power being used, both total amount and peak amount.  This will require that you look at billing records for an entire year for each account (or a several month period for seasonal use)
•	Rate Structure:  Review the rate structure and type of facility with the utility company to determine the best rate structure.  Don’t pay commercial rates on trailer pads, bunkhouses or guard stations.  Host sites in campgrounds may qualify for residential rates.  In many cases the rate is determined by the service size.  
•	Watch for demand charges.  Some sites that used to be larger required that we pay demand charges.  With reductions in personnel, numbers of buildings, and use, we not be required to pay these anymore.  
•	Check for 3-phase power charges.  Some utilities charge more for 3-phase than single phase.  At some sites, 3-phase could easily be converted to single phase.  
•	Tax Exempt:  Verify that the bill shows tax exempt status.  This also applies to government leases.
•	If you have done any upgrades such as fixture replacements, check with the utility provider to see if they offer rebates.  Go to www.dsireusa.org for more incentives by state for renewable energy and energy efficiency.